Antoinette: Princess of Esmeraudia
by Agent Numbuh 227
Summary: A new school year begins in Royal Prep, bringing new faces along with it. Sofia meets Princess Antoinette of Esmeraudia and soon learns that she has more in common with her friend than she realizes.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first Sofi the First story so I hope it turns out good. I'm taking a break from my other stories to make this but I will continue them. This story takes place after 'Royal Vacation' and the movie 'Elena and the Secret of Avalor' so Sofia's amulet is now pink. Anyway, hope you like it!**

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It was the last week of summer vacation before the start of a new school year. At Enchancia castle, the Royal Family was eating breakfast when Baileywick came in with a scroll on hand.

"Pardon me, your majesty but some very important news have arrived." He said, handing the scroll to King Roland.

Roland unrolled the scroll and as he read what was written, his eyes widened in surprise. "Well, I don't believe it."

"What is it, Rollie?" asked Miranda.

"It appears the Kingdom of Esmeraudia is reestablishing their ties with other kingdoms." Roland announced.

This news completely shocked everyone present. The Kingdom of Esmeraudia had not been in contact with the other Kingdoms for over 40 years. Esmeraudia had broken ties with the other Kingdoms shortly after the crowning of King Alphonse the Third. King Alphonse was a vile and cruel man who oppressed his people and harbored an ambition for more power. This ambition was so great that the other Kingdoms feared that he'll try to conquer them. Fortunately, no war came to pass since the very people of Esmeraudia would put a stop to their tyrant king.

Earl Gaspard DelaTour and his brother Lord Charles, children of Alphonse's cousin Duke Edgar, grew appalled of their uncle's tyranny and together, the brothers lead a rebellion to dethrone him. The rebellion lasted for almost three years until finally, King Alphonse's forces were defeated, and with Alphonse himself killed in a confrontation with his nephew Gaspard. Since Alphonse had no heirs, Earl Gaspard was crowned the new King of Esmeraudia while his brother Charles inherited the title of Duke from his father.

"Well, those are wonderful news." said Miranda, smiling.

"Indeed," agreed Roland. Esmeraudia had been a great ally to Enchancia before Alphonse's rule and this reconnecting offered the chance to restore their bonds. "And that's not all. The King and the Duke are sending their children to Royal Prep once the new term begins."

"Brilliant!" exclaimed James.

"That's so great!" Amber agreed happily.

"It'll be so nice to meet some new people when school starts." added Sofia, thinking about making some new friends. As the though crossed her mind, Sofia couldn't help to think giddily. _'I can't wait for school to start!'_

 **One week later**

It was now Monday morning and Royal Prep's new school year had begun. At the school's front gate, a crowd of students, among them Sofia, James and Amber, were gathered to see the arrival of the Esmeraudian Royal children. Soon, an unfamiliar flying carriage became visible as it approached Royal Prep. The carriage was pulled by two brown flying horses and on each door was the crest of the Royal Family of Esmeraudia. The crest was a shield divided in blue, white and red stripes with the image of a white wolf in the center. Once the carriage had stopped in front of Royal Prep, its occupants descended from it.

The first to emerge were a trio of teenage boy, around 14 or 15 years old. The first one was 15-years-old with pitch black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a gray suit with a dark purple neck handkerchief tucked into his shirt. The second teenage boy was 14-years-old with brown hair and brown eyes. Like the first boy, he was wearing a gray suit jacket though his was a slightly darker shade of gray and his handkerchief was red. The third boy was also 14 and he had light brown hair with dark brown eyes. Like the other two, he was wearing a suit with a handkerchief but his jacket was blue and the handkerchief was light blue. The three boys had an aura of smug superiority that was common on the snobbier members of the nobility.

Two more people then got off, a boy and a girl the same age as Sofia and her friends. The young boy was 10-year-old and had red hair with light green eyes. Like the older boys, he was wearing a suit, the jacket being marron with a purple bowtie. The girl also had red hair and green eyes, her hair cascading down past her back. She was wearing a green dress with an orange sash and orange frills on the neck and sleeves. The girl was obviously a princess due to the silver tiara decorated with pearls and an emerald that she wore. Unlike the teenagers, the girl and younger boy had an aura of friendliness and acceptance.

As the quintet walked to the entrance, the Headmistresses Flora, Fauna and Merryweather flew up to them. "Welcome to the Royal Preparatory Academy!" greeted Miss Flora. "We are the Headmistresses. I'm Miss Flora; these are Miss Fauna and Miss-"

"Merryweather!" the blue fairy interrupted to Miss Flora's annoyance.

"And we are honored to receive royalty from Esmeraudia at our school." continued Miss Fauna.

"Thank you," spoke the teen boy with the blue suit. He then introduced himself and his companions. "I am Prince Tristan of Esmeraudia, these are my siblings, Prince Lionel," he motioned to the red-haired boy who bowed then motioned to the girl, who curtsied. "And Princess Antoinette." He then motioned to the other teen boys. "These are our cousins Cyril," the black-haired boy bowed. "And Casimir." The brown-haired boy bowed. "We are honored to attend Royal Prep."

"Excellent!" exclaimed Miss Flora. "Now, if you come with us, we'll get you all settled. Classes will be starting soon." The three fairies began flying into the school with the Esmeraudian children following behind.

As they walked past, Sofia noticed that Princess Antoinette was wearing an amulet with a light green stone. _'Huh, it kinda looks like my amulet.'_ She thought as she touched her now-pink amulet.

At that moment, Princess Antoinette turned her head and her gaze connected with Sofia. The moment their eyes locked, Sofia felt some sort of bond between her and Antoinette, as if an invisible tread connected them. The red-haired princess apparently felt it as well because her green eyes widened slightly in surprise. The sensation passed quickly and both princesses returned to reality. Antoinette offered Sofia a small smile that the Enchancian Princess returned and the redheaded girl followed the fairies and her family into the school.

"We should be getting to class too," said Amber as all the students that had gathered headed inside.

Sofia, Amber and James walked together to their first class of the day, _Creative Writing_. As the three sat down, Miss Flora came in accompanied by Princess Antoinette and Prince Lionel.

"Class, we have some new students joining us today. How do we greet them?"

One by one the students got up from their seats and said "Good morning", while bowing or curtsying.

Miss Flora then turned to the siblings. "There's a pair of empty seats next to Prince James and Princess Sofia." The siblings went over to their seats and sat down, Lionel next to James and Antoinette next to Sofia. Antoinette glanced over at Sofia and smiled, then turned her attention to Miss Flora as the class begun.

 **Later that Day**

It was now lunch time and all the students went to the cafeteria to eat. Sofia, James, Amber, Hugo, Clio and Hildegard sat at a table together when Princess Antoinette and Prince Lionel walked up to them, lunch trays in their hands.

" _Bonjour_ ," greeted Antoinette. "Mind if we sit here?"

"Of course not," said Sofia. "You're welcomed to join us."

" _Merci!_ " said Lionel enthusiastically as he and his sister sat down. "I'm Lionel and this is my big sister, Antoinette."

"I'm Sofia, and this is my brother James and my sister Amber," Sofia then introduced her friends. "These are Prince Hugo and Princesses Hildegard and Clio."

"It's a pleasure meeting you, I'm Antoinette and this is my twin brother, Lionel," smiled Antoinette. "It's nice to meet friendly people on out first day of school ever."

"Before, we only had private tutors teaching us." said Lionel. "Our father and uncle thought it would be safer that way."

"Safe from what?" asked Hugo.

Both redheaded siblings looked uncertain about answering but Antoinette finally spoke. "Not everyone was happy when our father was crowned king. Some government officials and gentry members who benefitted from Alphonse's rule staged a coup against us."

This caused everyone to gasp.

"They sent assassins to do away with our parents, even hired a few evil witches to help them." continued Lionel. "Things got worse after we were born."

"It was just this summer that the group's ringleaders were captured and father decided it was safe enough for us to travel outside the kingdom." finished Antoinette. "The fact that he wanted to reestablish connections with the other kingdoms helped him decide."

"It must have been hard for you," said Clio in sympathy.

"It was." confirmed Antoinette. "We were confined inside the castle most of the time and the times we weren't, we had a whole platoon of guards following us around. We pretty much lived inside a gilded cage."

"But you are not living in one now," said Sofia reassuringly. "You are free to come here and make friends."

"You're right," smiled Antoinette and everyone smiled in return. Amber decided to switch the theme of the conversation.

"So, what can you tell us about your older brother and cousins? What kind of people are they?" inquired Amber.

"Eh, they are not the kind of people you would like to meet." said Lionel awkwardly. "They are not very nice."

"Why?" questioned Hildegard. "Prince Tristan seemed very polite when the Headmistresses welcomed them.

"That's because he was following the royal protocol." explained Antoinette. "The truth is that he and our cousins are stuck-up, snobs."

"You got that right!" said a male voice behind them.

The group turned around to see Prince Axel and Princess Astrid walking over.

Hildegard introduced them. "Antoinette, Lionel, this is my sister Astrid and Hugo's brother, Axel," the two teenagers turned to the redheads.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," smiled Astrid.

"Yeah," agreed Axel, then went back to what he was talking about. "Anyway, you are right to say they are snobs. We have some classes with them and they were going on and on about how 'lucky' that they were attending Royal Prep."

"We also saw them talking to Prince Silvester and his group a few minutes ago," said Astrid in disgust.

"Ugh! They must be awful if Silvester approached them," scoffed Hildegard, sharing her sister's disgust. The others also looked disgusted except for Antoinette and Lionel, who were confused.

"Who's Prince Silvester?" asked Lionel.

It was Hugo who answered. "His parents are the king and queen of the kingdom of Glensburg. Silvester is a stuck-up royal pain who likes to boast about how great he thinks he is. He, his girlfriend, and their friends call themselves 'true royalty'," he did air quotes. "Because they act like how they think royalty should be when in fact, they're just a bunch of bullies."

"They like to pick on people who they think are beneath them," explained James. "They really like to pick on us, especially Sofia."

"Why is that?" asked Antoinette.

"Because she's just a commoner pretending to be a princess," said a snobbish, female voice.

' _Oh great!"_ thought Sofia sourly as Princess Deidre of Hythoria walked over.

"What do you mean 'pretending to be a princess'?" asked Lionel.

"The only reason she's attending Royal Prep is because her mother married the king of Enchancia. Before that, she was a shoemaker which means she doesn't have an ounce royal blood."

Sofia, James, Amber, Hugo, Clio, Hildegard, Astrid and Axel shot dirty looks at Deidre but the stuck-up princess didn't seem to notice. Instead, she turned to Antoinette.

"So, you are the Princess of the great Kingdom of Esmeraudia, I am Princess Deidre of Hythoria." Deidre curtsied. "While you're attending Royal Prep, you'll find that some of us are more worthy of being royals than others." She shot as smirk at the others sitting at the table who continued to give her dirty looks. "I can help you figure out who is worthy of your time." Deidre extended her hand toward Antoinette as a sign of friendship.

Antoinette did not take her hand; she only shared a look with her brother before addressing Deidre. "I think I can tell who is worthy of my time on my own but thank you for your offer."

Deidre was shocked at the rejection. "What do you mean?"

"She means we don't want to be friends with you," informed Lionel.

"What?!" screamed Deidre in outrage. "You rather be friends with _them?!_ "

"Yes," Antoinette stated simply. "So you better be leaving."

Deidre angrily fumed and left in a huff.

"Wow, you sure showed Deidre!" said James, impressed.

"Yeah," agreed Astrid. "You are definitely not like your older brother and cousins."

"Thanks you," said Antoinette. "Honestly, neither of us like how Tristan, Cy and Cas act."

"They're annoying, really," added Lionel.

"And we don't mind that you come from humble origins, Sofia." said Antoinette, smiling at Sofia. "In fact, I hope you consider us your friends."

Sofia smiled back. "I would really like that."

"We all do," said Amber as she and everyone else also smiled.

Thus, it was the birth of some new friendships.

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 **Princess Deidre and Hythoria belong to Niagara14301 and are used with their permission**

 **Princess Antoinette, Princes Lionel and Tristan, Cyril, Casimir, the Kingdom of Esmeraudia, the Kingdom of Glensburg and Prince Silvester belong to me. Esmeraudia has some French influences in it.**

 **Everything else belongs to Disney. (According to the wiki, Princess Hildegard's older sister is called Astrid so that's the name I used)**

 **I really hope you liked this chapter and I'll try to have the next one out soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two. In this one we are introduced to some not-very pleasant characters and Antoinette meets some of the other students, including a very special Princess. Hope you enjoy it!**

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After lunch came recess so Sofia, her siblings, their friends and the Esmeraudian twins began to head outside. On their way to the yard, the group passed by a trophy case and Antoinette's eye caught sight of a golden framed tintype picture in it. It was a picture of Sofia and Hugo on their flying horses from when they won the Flying Crown.

"You derby race, Sofia?" asked Antoinette curiously.

"Yes," nodded Sofia. "I'm actually in Royal Prep's Derby team along with James and Hugo."

"You must be really good if you competed in the championships." Lionel remarked, impressed.

"Well of course she is." said Amber. "Sofia is one of the best riders in this school."

"Hey, I'm a pretty good rider too." protested James, a bit annoyed that Amber was excluding him. "It was mine and Sofia's teamwork that got us in the championships in the first place."

"And it was my teamwork with Sofia that helped us win." added Hugo.

"Yes, I know," said Amber dismissively while Sofia rolled her eyes at her sister's antics.

"You'll actually get a chance to see them in action," informed Hildegard. "Tomorrow there's a practice race and on Saturday there's a tryout race."

"Oh, you should try out, Tonya!" said Lionel excitedly. "You're a really good rider!"

"You ride?" asked Sofia in surprise.

"Well, yes," Antoinette admitted, sheepishly. "I do consider my skills decent but I've never raced before except against my brothers and cousins."

"Well, I agree that you should try out for the team." said Clio.

"Me too," said Hugo.

"Me three!" added James.

"Well, alright." Antoinette decided. "I'll try out."

The others were happy at her decision, telling her how great it was that she was trying.

"It'll be great having another princess in the team," said Sofia, happily.

"Yeah, really great." said a snotty voice sarcastically.

The eight children turned around to see a group of older royals approaching, among them Prince Tristan, Cyril and Casimir. In front of the group was a 15-year-old boy with sandy-blond hair and hazel eyes, wearing dark green prince clothing and a golden medallion around his neck. Next to him was a 15-year-old girl with curly, golden-blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a yellow gown, a jewel necklace and a jewel-encrusted tiara. There were Prince Silvester, his girlfriend Princess Savanah and their posse, the so called 'True Royals'.

Prince Silvester, having been the one who had spoken, continued. "One girl doing prince things is bad enough already but two of them is outrageous."

"And you are?" asked Antoinette, frowning. She definitely didn't like this guy's attitude.

"Ah yes, where are my manners." Silvester bowed. "I am Prince Silvester of Glensburg."

"And I'm his girlfriend." Savanah curtsied. "Princess Savanah of Valleyzia."

"So _you_ are the Prince Silvester I have been told about." Antoinette crossed her arms. "I must say, after what I have heard about you, I'm not surprised to see you in the company of my older brother and cousins." She glared at the aforementioned boys.

"There's nothing wrong in being welcoming to new students." said Silvester smugly.

"Especially if they are the royal representatives of the great Kingdom of Esmeraudia." added Savanah.

"Really?" said Antoinette, still with her arms crossed. "Ironic that you think that when just a moment before you were deriding me for wanting to participate in a flying derby race."

"You must understand, cousin," said Cyril, stepping forward. "There are some things that are not meant for princesses."

"Princesses can do whatever princes do if they set their minds to it." Sofia defended Antoinette, Amber, Clio and Hildegard agreeing.

"Ah, so you must be Princess Sofia," Cyril turned to Sofia, smirking. "We have heard so much about you."

"You are the commoner princess." Casimir smirked identically to his brother.

"Only here because your shoemaking mother married King Roland and he decided to name you a princess." added Tristan with his own smirk.

Sofia flinched at their comments even though she had heard them many times before from the more stuck-up members of nobility. James and Amber stepped next to their sister protectively, glaring at the older students as did Hugo, Clio, Hildegard, Lionel and Antoinette.

"I can believe you're saying those things, Tris." Lionel glared at his brother. "You're the last person who should be demining Sofia's commoner roots. You're a hypocrite."

"I am not!" snapped Tristan.

"Yes you are!" Antoinette snapped back. "Or have you forgotten that our mother, Queen Marie of Esmeraudia, was a _baker_ before marrying our father?"

This revelation drew gasps from all those present. Tristan, Cyril and Casimir flinched at the others' reactions.

"T-That's different!" stuttered Tristan, trying to remain composed. "Yes, our mother was a commoner but we still have royal blood from our father!"

"Hmp, all blood is the same, no matter if it's from a royal or a commoner." said Antoinette. "It certainly had nothing to do with person being worthy of being royal or not."

Tristan glared at his sister and she glared right back. The air around them seemed to spark with electricity as the animosity between the siblings was felt by everyone around them. The feeling grew more and more intense, until it felt like it would implode on itself-

"Oh dear, is there a problem?"

-then just like that, the feeling dissipated as the siblings broke eye contact. Everyone looked up to see Miss Flora flying above them, looking at the two groups in concern.

"There's no problem, Miss Flora," said Antoinette, calmly. "We were just discussing some things with Prince Silvester and my brother."

"Yes," agreed Prince Tristan, quickly. "Nothing but innocent debates, ma'am."

Miss Flora looked between to the groups, paying special attention to the older royals. She and the other headmistresses were aware of the 'True Royals' reputation and they knew it. Finding nothing against the rules from either group, the green-clothed fairy decided to let it go.

"Very well, you better be off to the yard then." With that, she flew away.

The younger children walked past the older ones, the two groups shooting glares at each other until they were out of sight. As they walked out the doors, Amber turned to the siblings. "Your mother was a baker?" she asked curiously as the others also seemed interested in the answer.

"Yes," stated Lionel without a hint of shame in his voice. "She worked at a bakery in the city near the castle. Father met her when he went there to supervise some reconstruction and it as love at first sight."

"A few of the aristocrats weren't too happy about my father proposing to a commoner, especially our Aunt, Duchess Apolline." continued Antoinette. "Luckily, most of the nobles were on dad's side so he and mom got married."

"Still, some nobles don't like us because of that even though they don't say it out loud." said Lionel.

"That's awful!" exclaimed Clio.

"So we understand how you must feel when they judge you by your roots, Sofia." said Antoinette sympathetically. "So, if you ever need someone to talk about it, we'll listen."

Sofia smiled. "Thank you." The others smiled as well.

At that moment, four children their age, a boy ad three girls approached.

"Antoinette, Lionel, these are our friends," said Amber as she introduced them. She motioned to the boy. "This is Prince Desmond." She motioned to a girl wearing a dark pink gown. "This is Princess Vivian and this is Princess Jun." A small girl wearing Chinese clothes stepped forward. The final girl also stepped forward. She was a Latino girl wearing a light blue dress. "And this is Princess Isabel of Avalor."

The four children introduced gave warm greetings to Antoinette and Lionel. The two of them were happy to make more new friends and forget about their encounter with Silvester. The twelve of them then spend recess playing together and bonding.

 **Later at fencing class**

Sofia, James, Hugo, Jun, Isabel and Antoinette walked to their next class together. The six of them had fencing class after recess while Amber, Hildegard, Clio, Desmond, Vivian and Lionel had _Royal Protocol_ class. After they had changed into their fencing uniforms, they entered the room where the class was held.

"Good afternoon, class." said the fencing instructor, a somewhat older knight named Sir Jonathan. Despite his age, Sir Jonathan was as fit and swift as he was in his younger days, though he might retire in a few years. "We have new student joining our fencing class. Please welcome Princess Antoinette."

After everyone had welcomed Antoinette, Sir Jonathan addressed the girl. "I understand you have prior experience in fencing, Princess Antoinette."

"Yes, my father had one of the Royal Musketeers be my fencing tutor." confirmed Antoinette.

"Then would you mind being my assistant for this class?"

"I'd be honored," Antoinette smiled as she put on her fencing mask and lifted her foil as she got into position. Sir Jonathan did the same and the two began to exchange blows with their foils. After a few minutes, Antoinette managed to touch the tip of her foil at Sir Jonathan's chest.

"Impressive." said Sir Jonathan as he removed his fencing mask. "You were taught well, Princess Antoinette."

"Thank you." Antoinette also removed her mask. The other students soon surrounded her, praising her for her excellent skills.

"That was great, Antoinette!" said Jun.

"Yeah, you're an amazing fencer." said Isabel.

"Maybe you should teach James some of those moves. He could really use them." said Hugo teasingly about the other prince.

"Hey, I'm not that bad." James protested.

"Oh yeah? Then why is Sofia always beating you?" challenged Hugo.

"Because I'm being a good brother and letting her win?" sheepishly said James unconvincingly.

The others giggled at James embarrassment then paired up to resume the class. Antoinette and Sofia paired together and shared a smile before lowering their fencing masks over their faces.

 **At the end of the day**

School had finished for the day and it was time for everyone to head home. Antoinette, Lionel, Sofia, James and Amber walked out of Royal Prep together and headed to where their carriages were waiting.

"Today was the best day in my life!" said Antoinette happily.

"Mine too!" agreed Lionel. "I never thought going to school would be so much fun."

"I'm really glad you two enjoyed your first day." smiled Sofia, happy for them.

"Well, it's time for us to head home." Antoinette took Sofia's hands. "Thank you for making this day so wonderful, all of you." She said, looking at Amber and James. "I'm so glad that we're friends."

"Yeah, you three are the best!" smiled Lionel.

"We're glad to be your friends, too." said Amber as she, Sofia and James smiled.

After saying their goodbyes, Sofia, James and Amber got in their carriage which took off to take them home to Enchancia. Antoinette and Lionel also boarded their carriage where Tristan, Cyril and Casimir were already seated. The three older boys glared at the twins, still sour from their earlier confrontation. Antoinette and Lionel just ignored them as the carriage took off towards Esmeraudia.

' _Today was the best!'_ thought Antoinette, happily. _'I'm so glad me and Lionel have some new friends. They all seem to be such wonderful people, especially Sofia.'_

Thinking about the purple wearing princess made Antoinette smile. She had the feeling that she and Sofia would become very good friends.

* * *

 **Princess Isabel is Princess Elena's sister and the idea of her attending Royal Prep is from a future plotline in Niagara14301's story "Dorrie 2". The idea to have Isabel take fencing is based on the opening of 'Elena of Avalor' where Elena swordfights with a bandit on a moving carriage and I added Jun to the class because I thought she might have taken an interest in swordfighting after meeting Mulan in the episode "Princesses to the Rescue". Hugo's comment about James getting beaten by Sofia at fencing are based on the episode "Baileywick's Day Off" where Sofia beated James while they were playing pirates.**

 **Antoinette, Lionel, Tristan, Cyril, Casimir, Silvester, Savanah and Sir Jonathan belong to me. The other characters belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next chapter might take a while because I will be updating my other stories.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Third chapter of the story. This was originally much longer but I decided to split it into two chapters. The next one might take a while to finish because I'll be working on my other stories and my class will start soon. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Esmeraudia Castle**

Dawn had arrived at the Kingdom of Esmeraudia and the sun's rays shined its golden light over the royal palace and the small city near it. As yellow rays seeped through the window of Antoinette's room, the red-haired girl began waking up. Light green eyes opened and the princess rose from her slumber, stretching the sleepiness of her limbs.

At the end of her bed, Antoinette's black-and-white Papillon dog Aramis, also woke up and stretched. Antoinette smiled at the sight of her beloved dog.

"Good morning, Aramis?" said Antoinette. "Did you sleep well?"

The small dog gave a bark that apparently Antoinette understood as meaning yes. The Papillon then scampered through the large bed toward his owner who proceeded to scratch him behind the ears, much to Aramis enjoyment.

At that moment, a maid entered the room.

"Good morning, Princess Antoinette" the maid, Susana, said.

"Good morning Susana" smiled Antoinette as she got of bed, Aramis jumping off after her.

"What would you like to wear today, miss?" asked Susana as she opened the closet.

"My green dress with orange frills" said Antoinette then added. "Oh, and please also take out my riding outfit."

Susana took out the dress and riding outfit, setting the latter on Antoinette's bed as the princess put on her dress. Once dressed, Susana placed Antoinette's tiara on her head while Aramis sat watching.

"Thank you, Susana" smiled Antoinette gratefully.

"You are welcome, miss." Susana curtsied. They then heard a bell ring, indicating that it was time for breakfast.

"Time for breakfast! Come on, Aramis." Antoinette picked up her riding outfit, put it in a bag and walked out of the room with Aramis at her heels. "Bye, Susana!"

Most of the royal family was already eating breakfast when Antoinette arrived, except for Tristan, Cyril and Casimir. Antoinette sat in her usual place next to Lionel as Aramis began eating out of his bowl.

"Good morning, Antoinette" greeted Antoinette's mother, Queen Marie with a warm smile. She was a beautiful 34-year-old woman with light skin, bearing the same reddish hair and green eyes as her youngest children. Like her daughter, Queen Marie wore a green gown though the front section of it was white as well as the bodice. Along with her crown, the queen had also a green bow tied to the back of her hair and off her neck and ear dangled a pearl necklace and pearl earrings.

"Good morning, Mom." smiled Antoinette who then greeted her father. "Good morning, Dad."

"Good morning." smiled the king. King Gaspard was a 36-year-old man with a strong build and a kind face. His hair and mustache were a dark brown color while his eyes were light brown, making it obvious to all just where his eldest son had acquired his looks from. He wore a dark red suit with a golden sash over his shoulder and a golden medallion around his neck.

Antoinette then greeted the other two adults sitting at the able. "Good morning, Uncle, good morning Aunt." The last part was said with less enthusiasm than before.

"Good morning." said both the Duke and Duchess at the same time. Duke Charles resembled his older brother alot though his hair was black instead of brown and he had a small beard along with his moustache and his suit was black with golden buttons. His voice and eyes were just as warm as his brother's.

Duchess Apolline had blue eyes with brown hair styled in a high-class looking bouffant and wore an extremely elaborated dulled purple gown that seemed more appropriated for a fancy ball than for eating breakfast. The Duchess also wore various pieces of fancy jewelry including diamond rings, diamond earrings and a diamond necklace. In contrast with her husband, her face was of dignified seriousness and her voice carried a snobbish undertone like her sons and nephew.

At that moment, Tristan, Cyril and Casimir entered the room with Cyril and Casimir's large French Mastiffs, Ignace and Horace, right at their heels. The two huge canines were both reddish brown though Horace was a much lighter brown than Ignace. As the older boys sat at the table, Horace and Ignace went over to their food bowls, walking pass Aramis. As they walked pass, the two large dogs glared at the small Papillon who glared back just as strongly. Fortunately, the dogs knew better than to start trouble, instead concentrated on eating their food.

As the royal family ate their breakfast, Gaspard turned to his children and nephews. "I've already made the arrangements to have your horses sent to Royal Prep." He informed them. "They should arrive just in time for the tryouts."

"Thank you, father." said Tristan. Last night, after Antoinette had told her father about the derby tryouts and asked to participate, Lionel, Tristan, Cyril and Casimir had also the idea to participate and also asked for their horses to be sent to Royal Prep.

"I still do not think that we should allow Antoinette to participate." interjected Duchess Apolline, her constant frown deepening. "Derby racing is not an appropriate thing for a princess to be doing."

Gaspard, Marie, Charles, Lionel and Antoinette as sighed quietly, knowing well where this was going.

Queen Marie decided to be the one to speak. "There's nothing wrong about a princess derby racing, Apolline. Yes, it's mostly done by boys but there's no rule that says a girl can race. And there's already another princess on the team so I don't see why Antoinette shouldn't try out."

"Hmp yes, 'Princess' Sofia is on the team but she's a _commoner_ ," Apolline's face showed a hint of disgust as she said the word. "I do not expect her to act as a proper princess whatsoever."

"Being born a commoner does not define whether someone is proper royalty or not." Queen Marie said, annoyed. She and the Duchess glared at each other from their seats to the nervousness of everybody else. It was well known throughout the kingdom that Duchess Apolline didn't like Marie due to the queen having been a baker before marrying King Gaspard. Surprisingly, this dislike did not extend to Gaspard and Marie's children.

"That's enough!" snapped Gaspard, ending the staring contest. "Antoinette is participating in the tryouts and that's final." He directed a hard look at the Duchess. "I also do not want to hear another degrading comment towards any member of the Enchancia Royal Family. Their kingdom was a great ally of ours and I intend to reestablish our ties."

"Of course, your majesty" said Duchess Apolline, cringing slightly at the king's glare but quickly regained her composure.

The family ate the rest of their breakfast in silence and as the servants began to pick up the empty plates, their Royal Steward walked in. Able Picard was a 34-year-old man with brown hair, beard and mustache nd golden eyes. His steward outfit consisted of a purple jacket over a red vest, a purple scarf and light blue pants.

"Your majesties" said Able as he bowed. "The flying carriage is ready to take the children to school."

"Thank you, Able." said Gaspard. "Now, off you go, children."

The children said their good-byes to their parents and headed out to the courtyard. As they walked outside, the Royal Sorceress, Ariane Moreau appeared in a puff of smoke. Ariane was a strikingly beautiful 30-year-old woman with waist-length, waving golden hair and light blue eyes. She wore light blue sorcerer robes, black boots and light blue fingerless gloves.

"Good morning, Ariane" Antoinette greeted with a smile. "Where're you off too?"

"Good morning, Princess Antoinette" The sorceress smiled back. "I'm off to the city to pick up some supplies. Excited about today?"

"Yes, I can hardly wait!" Antoinette said excitedly. "I better go. Bye, Ariane!" she waved as she ran to the carriage.

Ariane waved back as the carriage took off to Royal Prep. A short while later they arrived and the five got off the carriage. Tristan, Cyril and Casimir immediately walked over the Prince Silvester's group as Sofia, Amber and James came over.

"Hey Antoinette, Hi Lionel!" greeted Sofia.

"Amber, James, Sofia!" Antoinette called back.

"Bonjour guys" greeted Lionel.

"Excited about the race?" Amber asked Antoinette.

"Yeah, and Lionel is participating too!" informed Antoinette.

"Brilliant!" exclaimed James.

"Unfortunately, so are Tristan, Cy and Cas." said Lionel.

"Ugh, can't those three just keep themselves away?" Amber said in disgust.

"Let's not worry about them, it will only sour our day." advised Antoinette.

"She's right," agreed Sofia. "We should focus on looking forward to the race."

"Fine, now come one." Amber headed inside. "Classes will begin soon."

 **Later that day**

Sofia, James and Hugo walked into the stables to get their horses for the practice race. As James and Hugo got Echo and Electra out of their stalls, Sofia walked over to Minimus.

"Ready for practice, Minimus?" asked Sofia, smiling as she opened the door of the purple horse's stall.

"Not really." murmured the small horse nervously as Sofia lead him out of his stall.

"You'll do fine," reassured the princess, used by now to her steed's nervousness. Sofia, Hugo and James each mounted their horses and with a triple shout of 'Hya's, then took flight toward the track.

Just as the horses landed next to the track, the three riders heard a voice calling them from above. "Hey there!"

They looked up to see Antoinette and Lionel on their flying horses, the twins gently landing beside them. Antoinette was wearing a dark green riding outfit and a matching dark green riding helmet with an orange band. Lionel's riding outfit consisted in a maroon vest and helmet with dark gray pants.

Just as their outfits matched them, so did the twins' horses. Antoinette's horse was a copper-brown mare with a long, dark red mane streaked with green highlights and blue-green eyes. She had a similar body build to Electra, strong and sleek, indicating that she was strong as well as fast. The mare had a particular twinkle in her eyes that betrayed a wild and spirited aura. Lionel's horse was a light chestnut stallion with a white mark on his forehead, white fetlocks, a dark brown mane streaked with red and brown eyes. He was the same size as Echo and appeared to be just as fast. While Antoinette's horse had a wild aura, this stallion appeared more calm and collected.

"Allow us to introduce our horses," said Lionel as he patted the side of his horse's neck. "This is Brice." Brice softly neighed in greeted, lightly bowing his head.

"And this is Delphine" Antoinette motioned to her horse. Unlike Brice's greeting, Delphine's neigh was strong and loud, the red mare emphasizing it by rearing up slightly.

"Wow!" exclaimed Hugo as the horses stepped back slightly, startled by Delphine's strident call.

"Easy girl" said Antoinette calmly as Delphine settled down. "Sorry about that, she's very energetic."

"It's alright," Sofia smiled reassuringly. "So, ready to race?"

"You bet we are!" exclaimed Lionel happily.

"Great!" exclaimed James. "Then let's get started."

The five of them headed over to the starting line, where Sir Gillian was already waiting and the horses got into position. Up in the stands, Amber, Hildegard, Clio, Desmond, Vivian, Jun, Isabel and a few other students sat down to watch the race.

"On your wings, get set, go!" called Sir Gillian as he blew his whistle and the horses took off.

James and Hugo quickly took the lead with Sofia and the twins a few yards behind them. The soon approached the low bridge where Lionel took the opportunity to take the lead as the horses flew under the bridge. Next they approached a row of threes for them to serve around, James taking the lead from Lionel at the last turn. Soon, the steeple was in sight and Hugo seized the chance to pull ahead before the horses began climbing, their riders ringing the bell as they passed through. The racers were now at the final stretch with Hugo in the lead, Lionel and James at matching paces behind him and the two princesses at the back of the herd.

Suddenly, Sofia began to pull forward as Minimus slowly but surely gained ground. A glimpse of red at the corner of her eye caught Sofia's attention and she turned, surprised to see Antoinette on Delphine, the other princess matching her pace wing flap by wing flap. The red-haired princess glanced over, smirked at Sofia and nodded, the silent message being clear. _'Let's show them!'_

Sofia returned the smirk and focused back on the race. There were only a few meters away from the finish line and the princes were ahead but that wouldn't last much longer. With a burst of speed, the princesses' horses quickly passed James and Lionel, gaining in on Hugo. Soon, Sofia and Antoinette were neck-to-neck with Hugo as they closed in on the finish line. With a final effort, Minimus and Delphine pulled a few inched ahead of Electra just before the three horses crossed the finish line.

"It's a tie!" announced Sir Gillian. "Between Princess Antoinette and Princess Sofia!"

"That was brilliant!" exclaimed James as the children landed their horses.

"Yeah," agreed Hugo. "You guys are amazing riders!"

"Thanks" smiled Lionel. "So are you three!"

"That was a great race." Said Sofia as she got off Minimus and approached Antoinette.

"Indeed," Antoinette agreed as she dismounted Delphine. "Now I see how you and Hugo won the Flying Crown if that's how you usually race." Sofia smiled at the compliment.

Meanwhile, the horses were having their own conversation.

"You two are very fast flyers." complimented Electra.

"Thank you, you three are very fast as well" said Brice.

"Especially you, Minimus," added Delphine. "I never thought such a small horse could be so fast."

"Eh, thanks?" Minimus flinched slightly at the comment on his size.

"Delphi, watch what you're saying," scolded Brice. "You hurt his feelings."

"Oh, flying feathers!" Delphine looked mortified. "I'm so sorry! I swear I didn't mean anything bad with that!"

"Oh, it's ok," said Minimus, trying to appear nonchalant. "I know I'm not very big."

"Still, I'm sorry for sounding insensitive." Delphine still looked embarrassed. "I really was impressed with your flying."

"Really?" asked the small horse, not quite believing his ears. "Oh, I'm sure you've meet much bigger and faster horses."

"Yeah, but not too many of them can claim to have been derby champions."

"Oh, stop," said Minimus embarrassed. "It's not like I won it all alone."

"Yeah, but it was you and Sofia who crossed the finish line" Argued Electra.

"Only because you and Hugo sling-shoot us across" countered Minimus.

"It was a team effort" Echo told Delphine and Brice while Minimus and Electra keep arguing.

While the horses were talking to each other, Sir Gillian approached Antoinette. "That was impressive flying you did, Princess Antoinette."

"Thank you, Sir Gillian," the redhead smiled.

"With skills like that, you would make a fine addition to our flying derby team" continued Sir Gillian.

"Me? On the team?" Antoinette asked, shocked.

"Well, if you fly on Saturday like you did today, I'll be more than glad to let you join." Sir Gillian smiled.

Antoinette smirked. "Oh, you can bet I will"

"Excellent, I'll look forward to it" With that, Sir Gillian left while Amber and the others that were sitting on the stands came over.

"You girls were amazing!" exclaimed Amber as she hugged Sofia and Antoinette. "I'm so proud of both of you."

"Ahem!" coughed James.

"Yeah, you boys did well too" Amber waved dismissively.

"You all did wonderfully!" exclaimed Clio happily as Vivian, Jun, Hildegard. Isabel and Desmond nodded in agreement.

"It'll be awesome to have you on the team!" exclaimed Hugo.

Not everyone was as happy for Antoinette's victory. Standing next to his own horse a while away, Cyril glared angrily as his female cousin. He was wearing a riding outfit the same light gray color as his normal clothes. Next to him were Casimir and Tristan with their horses, also wearing their riding outfits.

"Tonya thinks she's _so_ good" Cyril seethed in rage. "Princesses should stick to tea parties and leave racing to princes" There was no doubt that the future Duke DelaTour was a sexist.

"Oh, just let it go, Cy," said Tristan. Unlike Cyril and in contrast with how they normally acted in public, Tristan and Casimir didn't really mind if Princesses did 'prince things' or not. To be honest, the two of them (especially Tristan) were really proud of Antoinette.

"Yeah," agreed Casimir. "You're just upset because Tonya is a better rider than you."

Cyril turned his angry glare at his brother. "She is _not_ a better rider than me!"

"She won the last ten races between us" deadpanned Tristan.

"Well that changes today!" Cyril boasted as he mounted his horse, Tonnerre and took fight.

"He's gonna get his behind kicked" sighed Casimir.

"Most certainly" answered Tristan.

As Cyril approached the younger royals, he called out "Hey, Antoinette!"

"Sigh and the day started out so nice" she turned as Cyril landed next to the group. "What is it, Cy?"

"I challenge you to a race!" The older boy announced causing murmuring to spread among those present.

"A race?" Antoinette echoed in disbelief. "Are you sure you want to get humiliated in front of the whole school? Because I'll let you back down right now"

Me, back down? Never!" scoffed Cyril. "What, are you scared of losing to me?"

Antoinette sighed once more. "Alright, if you insist" she turned to call her horse. "Come one, Delphi"

Delphine turned to her new friends. "Excuse me but I have to help Tonya teach her cousin a lesson" she then walked over to her owner and let Antoinette mount her.

"This ought to be interesting" commented Brice as Cyril and Antoinette guided their horses to the starting line.

As they waited for the signal to start, Tonnerre turned to Delphine. "Prepare to eat my dust, wild horse" he taunted.

"Hah, you wish" Smirked Delphine.

"On your wings, get set, go!" announced Sir Gillian, blowing his whistle. The horses took off at high speeds, kicking up a cloud of dust. In seconds, Cyril and Tonnerre were in the lead with Antoinette and Delphine right behind.

As they approached the low bridge, Antoinette tried to pass Cyril but her cousin matched her move by move, using his horse larger size to block Delphine. Next they approached the row of trees and they twisted and swerved around them, but at the last turn Tonnerre clipped the tree with his wing, slowing him down. This allowed Antoinette and Delphine to gain distance though Cyril and Tonnerre were still in the lead. The horses approached the bel tower and climbed it, their riders ringing the bell as they passed.

They were now on the final stretch with Cyril and Tonnerre still in the lead but Antoinette and Delphine were closing in fast. Steadily, the girls managed to catch up with them and the two horses were now flying side by side. Cyril turned to face his cousin, an angry scowl in his face.

' _I'm not losing to you again!'_ he mentally declared and pulled Tonnerre's reins to the side, attempting to ram Antoinette and Delphine out of the track.

Fortunately, Antoinette saw what he was trying and she pulled Delphine's reins back, the mare dodging the larger horse. This caused Cyril and Tonnerre to careen out of the track and crash into a tree, getting stuck on the branches much to the amusement of the spectators.

"Serves them right!" laughed Antoinette as she looked back at them, Delphine neighing in agreement. The two then crossed the finish line without any hassle and landed among their cheering friends.

"That was amazing!" exclaimed Amber.

"Brilliant!" smiled James.

"You sure showed Cyril" congratulated Lionel. "He should know by now that you're the best rider in the family." His comment earned nods of agreement from everyone.

"Aw, thank you" Antoinette said bashfully.

"You were great!" said Sofia as she hugged Antoinette. "I can't wait for you to join the team!"

"Neither can I" Antoinette smiled in return.

* * *

 **And so we meet the rest of the Esmeraudian Royal Family and some of the other people (and animals) who live at Esmeraudia Castle. Antoinette is such a great flying rider though I must clarify that she's not an expert in everything, she's just naturally gifted in horse riding, sports and other physical activities. Besides, she was privately tutored on the subjects until recently. That's doesn't mean she doesn't have any struggles just that I haven't shown them yet.**

 **I only own the Kingdom of Esmeraudia, the Esmeraudian Royal Family, their pets and anyone who lives in their kingdom. The other characters belong to their respective owners.**


End file.
